Tag: Archives

We have just released our newsletter for May 2018, which includes updates on our projects Change Minds, Human Henge, Culture Quest and our new project Burgh Castle Almanac. If you’d like to sign up to receive our newsletters in the future follow this link.

Thanks to Beth Brunton for this great blog post about our Change Minds project on the National Archives blog.

The benefits to the participants have been significant. Feedback shows that the chance to meet people, and to feel connected to new people in both the past and the present has been transformative. It has opened up new interests, new confidence in skills and talents, and even paths to volunteering.

To celebrate two years of Norfolk archives and mental health project Change Minds, North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb has invited participants to the Houses of Parliament for a special visit and reception on Monday 4th of December 2017.

Change Minds helps very disadvantaged people in North Norfolk make creative use of Norfolk Record Office and local libraries for their mental health. Through the 19th century asylum archives in Norfolk Record Office, participants explore life with a mental health problem in the 1880s, and compare it with their experience today. Research by the UEA and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust shows that Change Minds participants feel more positive and have reduced their use of health services.

The project is a partnership between the Restoration Trust, Norfolk Record Office, Norfolk Library and Information Service and Together for Mental Wellbeing, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Our new project in Norwich starts in February at the Millennium Library, with funding from Town Close Estate Charity.

We want to spread the word about Change Minds at national level because evidence shows that it is an innovative, cost-effective way to connect very disadvantaged people with local history and each other so that their mental health improves.

In the morning Head of Parliamentary Archives David Prior will show participants original documents relating to asylums and mental health treatment from the 19th Century to today. The afternoon reception in Portcullis House will include speeches by participants, Isobel Hunter – Head of Archives Sector Development at the National Archives, Joff Whitten – Heritage Lottery Fund East of England Committee, and Norman Lamb MP. Attendees will include Clive Lewis MP, Chloe Smith MP, Rehman Chishti MP, Kevan Jones MP, Andrew Mitchell MP, Lord Alan Howarth and Baroness Hollins.

Change Minds has just had a major exhibition at the Forum in Norwich, launched with an event attended by the Sheriff of Norwich, the Chairman of Norfolk County Council and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, with media in the Eastern Daily Press, on BBC Radio Norfolk and Future Radio. Visited by more than 1,000 people, comments included: ‘Really fascinating – revisiting themes that impact on mental health just as relevant today – poverty, family relationship breakdown, isolation, alcohol use: ‘Brilliant, we need to do more of this, ALL of us. Mental illness is not shameful.’

Director of the Restoration Trust Laura Drysdale says: ‘We’re delighted that Change Minds participants have the opportunity to tell national politicians and decision makers about the difference this successful archives and mental health project has made to their lives. We are really grateful to the project’s patron Norman Lamb MP for hosting us at the Houses of Parliament.’

The lives of people living in a Norfolk asylum in the 19th century are being showcased during a thought-provoking display at Norwich’s Forum later this month.

The free exhibition from 20-23 November is the culmination of a two-year Change Minds project which has supported North Norfolk residents with mental health conditions and on low incomes to research the history of those in the Norfolk County Asylum in Thorpe.

Change Minds has provided a fascinating insight into local heritage, mental health and identity.

It is being opened by former Norwich City FC footballer Cedric Anselin, who is a champion of mental health support in Norfolk having battled mental illness himself. He is an ambassador for a Norfolk County Council campaign to promote mental wellbeing, reduce the stigma around mental ill health and urge people with suicidal thoughts to talk to others.

Items on show to the public will include visual displays, a digital walk through of Norfolk County Asylum, a listening post featuring oral history clips and an activity area so visitors can have a go at their own research.

Change Minds is run by the Restoration Trust, in conjunction with Norfolk Record Office and Together in North Norfolk and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Around 20 people have been involved in the project, assisted by support workers and staff offering guidance.

One participant, Georgina, had previously researched her own family history when the project was suggested by her support worker. Georgina said: “Although it was daunting at first, people understand and don’t judge me. It has been a really interesting project and has helped to improve my confidence. I’ve made some new friends and hope to continue as a volunteer.”

Together support worker Lindsey Ashfield said: “Participating in Change Minds has made an amazing difference to the people I support. I have seen their confidence and self-esteem grow, their network of friends increase and their hope in their futures renewed and revitalised.”

Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Communities Committee, said: “Participants have had an enjoyable and interesting experience, formed friendships and developed their skills in archive research in a welcoming environment. I would encourage people to come along to The Forum and view the findings for themselves.”

Participants each chose one person to research and then studied them at their own pace, using archives at Norfolk Record Office and online census records in Norfolk libraries to track them and learn about their lives through visits to Gressenhall Museum and Norwich Castle Study Centre. They have taken part in creative workshops, learned how to make an oral history and taken part in group activities.

Some of those taking part also indexed the asylum casebook to make it easier for future users to find the details of those people whose lives are recorded.

North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb has invited participants to visit the House of Commons after finding out more about the project.

On November 22 there will be seminar for health and social care professionals in the Vernon Castle room at The Forum’s Millennium Library about research into the benefits of the project. This is part of the 2017 Norfolk Arts Forum conference, Creative Health: Building Alliances for Social Change in Norfolk.

The project was funded for two years initially, it is hoped it could be extended in the future to benefit more people with mental health problems in Norfolk and beyond.

County Archivist Gary Tuson recently spoke about Change Minds at a National Archives Conference and the project has also been evaluated by psychologists at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Their report found that participants have enjoyed themselves, made friends, and developed confidence. They have gained historical research and creative skills, deepened their interest in history and the lives of people in Norfolk and developed a stronger sense of place and purpose.

Laura Drysdale, Director of the Restoration Trust, said: “Change Minds is a completely new way for local people to use archives to reveal the hidden stories of asylum patients and relate them to their own lives. The exhibition at the Forum celebrates their fantastic research and creative achievements.”

Norfolk County Council’s Millennium Library, also based at The Forum, offers a range of books about mental health issues and will be including a display of the most popular titles during the week of the exhibition.